Kennedy condolence letters -- some of the 800,000 sent to Jackie Kennedy -- published online

The former first lady, 50 years ago Tuesday, made her first public statement since the assassination of President
John F. Kennedy. Jackie Kennedy said then, "I want to take this opportunity to
express my appreciation for the hundreds and thousands of messages, nearly
800,000 in all, which my children and I have received over the past few
weeks."

Jackie Kennedy

CBS

On Tuesday, for the first time, the
Kennedy Library opened the files of condolence letters from Mrs. Kennedy's personal papers, posting them online.

The storage boxes of Jackie Kennedy's personal files at the Kennedy Library.

CBS

Forty-four boxes of letters, some 7,000 in
all, were kept in Jackie Kennedy's personal collection.

Condolence letters from Jackie Kennedy's personal files.

CBS

In 1964, Mrs. Kennedy said, referring to the letters, “Whenever I can bear to, I read them."

They came from ordinary people all
over the world. An Italian sculptor sent a photo of a bust he'd made of the
president. A California artist sent a painting of the funeral cortege.

Boy Scout Explorer Post 187 offered
"to help you move into your new apartment when you come here to the City
of New York in the fall."

The president's widow saved many
letters from children, including one from 10-year-old Bridget Hebert of Lake
Charles, La. “I guess you haven't gotten over the shock of your husband's
death, because I haven't either," she wrote. "Come over, if you can, to
our house to rest."

Bob Thorn's letter to Jackie Kennedy.

CBS

Bob Thorn, 13, felt partly responsible for the tragedy. "It was kind of my fault,” he said, revealing he'd
received a "C" in American history at school. "After this tragic
loss, I realized that I could do plenty to help my country. Next term, I
promise you, I'll get an A."

An envelope from Maxine McNair in Alabama
was marked V.I.P: “When the tragic news came across the airwaves, again," she
wrote, "my heart said, 'It isn't true. It didn't happen’."

McNair's daughter Denise and three
other girls had been killed five months earlier in the bombing of the 16th Street
Baptist Church in Birmingham.

"May I commend you on your
wonderful display of courage," she added. "Isn't it strange how
people with so much to give the world are taken."

In 1964, Jackie Kennedy said, "The
knowledge of the affection in which my husband was held by all of you has
sustained me."

Mrs. Kennedy made certain all these letters were answered
by her personal secretaries and saved as an archive of a nation's grief.